I love you, my Angel

Summary:
The night Edward 'died' but he wasn't alone. There was someone beside him, begging him to stay the whole time, pleading with him not to leave her in the darkness of her world. AU.

Notes:
Sooo....This can be a one shot....or it can't be a one shot....u choose.... I got the idea from listening to The River Flows In You and looking at an old fashoned picture hanging on my wall of a flower surounded building with lots of windows and a horse buggy outside....but I'm not really sure how that ended up as this....hmmmm...

8. I love you

She watched me with that total recognition, like she had known me for years. If I hadn’t been looking for someone exactly like this—vampire, animal drinkers—I would’ve been intimidated, perhaps. Plus, the fact that I knew I would be dying soon either way sucked away all or any of the fear that—logically—should’ve been there.

So I watched Her calmly as she sashayed over the back desk—the seat next to mine, empty because the rest of the children were so intimidated by me—and sat down in a quick, gliding motion.

In the second it took her to walk towards me at human pace, my mind was quickly calculating all the ways she could possibly know me. Had I met her earlier? No, I would’ve remembered another peacemaker amongst humans. Maybe a friend of Jaspers? I tossed that idea away just as quickly. Jasper would also have done all he could to keep her close, her diet alone the major factor. Yet her eyes held such overwhelming familiarity that it seemed impossible for her to not know me. She must.

I was careful, watching her out of the corner of my eyes; I still had full view. “Who are you?”

“Mary Alice Cullen, at your service—just call me Alice, though,” I could see the lift in her cheek, the sign of her smile.

I considered telling her my name but I figured she already had found that one out. “Are you alone?”

Her face twisted somewhat. “No. There are others.”

Excitement shot through my body. Jasper was going to be the furthest thing from alone. He would hardly have time to miss me. He would be safe, with others of his kind. My already splintered heart throbbed for a second at the thought of leaving behind my brother—I’d had him around for so long, it was almost too hard to imagine him not being there.

“And do you all feed on animals?” I needed to clarify that, at least.

Her head twitched in a nod.

Yes, this was working out perfectly. Now I just had to get her to agree to meet Jasper.

“Don’t even bother,” She grinned, “You already invited me!”

I tried not to show my shock, but she obviously found it anyways. How…?

“I have a gift,” she murmured, “I can see glimpses of the future.”

The first reaction was panic. Would she know what I was planning? And if she did, would she tell Jazz? If Jasper knew, if he hadn’t already guessed it, I was almost positive that he would attempt to stop me. I would have to run. Unless, for some reason, Alice hadn’t seen it. I could only hope.

My second reaction, again, was gratefulness. Jasper would be so well protected over. He probably wouldn’t even miss me; he would no longer have to suffer through my emotions. He would be free of my tedious presence. Of course he wouldn’t find a way to mourn at my los.

“Edward!” I called, quickly picking through the trees. It was fall; almost a month since I’d met Edward for the first time. It was warmer than usual, and the forest floor was covered in brightly covered leaves. Warm sunlight filtered through the trees, making patterns everywhere.

I held my long sleeved simple blue dress on as I hopped over a particularly thick root. “Edward, where are you? I’ve been searching for almost ten minutes.” I couldn’t stop my smile though. Hide and seek was a favorite of Edward’s, probably because he was so good at it, too.

I heard a twig snap behind me. I laughed, twisting around. No one was there. How strange. Usually Edward was more than careful and never made a sound; his stealth was intimidating sometimes. My smile faltered for a second as I imagined it not being Edward, but something else. Heart beat starting up, my breath caught in my throat. No, of course it’s him, I reasoned, starting towards the tree that the sound had come from.

“Edward, is that you? If this is a trick, it isn’t funny at all. Come out, please?” There was no response and I neared the tree, only a few feet away. “Edward…” My voice shook. If ever I did ask Edward to end that game, making sure I was serious, he always did, grinning and calling his victory. He hadn’t done it this time.

I touched the rough bark of the tree, walking around it ever slowly, breathe held. I let it out in a long sigh of relief when no one was there; my heart was still skipping around in my chest. I put my hand on it, trying to slow it down. Of course Edward hadn’t been there. He just hadn’t heard my plea for him to end the game. That’s—

“Hello, Isabella.”

I jumped, a short scream bubbling from my mouth. I quickly spun around, one arm on the tree for support.

Sebastian stood very still, watching me with dark, amused eyes. He was tall but very firm looking under his silky red shirt. He had a very sculptured face with beautiful, tan skin. Sebastian had thick glossy curls that fell to his shoulders; a very beautiful face over all, I had to admit.

The beauty held no appeal to me, however. I had had years to watch it, as it always held the most respectful expressions and pleasing smiles, with disgust. Sebastian wasn’t one of those usual marshmallows that I had been shoved at. No, he was different, evil, and cruel. I had seen his looks that he gave people when they weren’t watching. His eyes held a sinister look in them, always.

“Why hello, Sebastian, what on earth brings you out here?”

Hands held respectively behind his back: “I was about to ask you the same thing, Ms. Swan.”

I straitened. That was hardly respectful at all, to turn the question around on the woman. “I was sitting out by the river and decided to take a walk, that’s all,” I lied. Sebastian absolutely loathed Edward. Edward had ‘stolen his girl’, he said. I’d never been Sebastian’s in the first place! I just…couldn’t lie very well at all.

He chuckled, but quickly stopped, taking a step forward.

“I think I best be going, Mr. Richards. It was very pleasant talking to you. You’ll tell your mother hello, won’t you?” I took a step sideways, trying to go around his advance. Leaves crackled under foot.

“But you’re leaving so soon? You haven’t even finished your game, yet.” He preceded another long step, something very intimidating.

My mind scrambled for a response. I could only back up from him. My back pressed against a tree. “Really, I must be going. My mother is expecting me back any moment.” Where on earth was Edward? If I screamed, would he hear me? Would he even be able to take the overly large Sebastian out? Would it only get Edward hurt? I wouldn’t—couldn’t—scream, I decided. It would only harm Edward. I would rather die than let that befall him. I clenched my jaw closed tightly.

“I don’t think she’ll miss you.” He murmured, only a step away. I could almost feel his breath upon my cheek. “You see, I spoke with your mother today. I told her I was taking you to a play, and that we were leaving early to catch dinner.” His finger grazed my cheek. My breath was uncontrollable now, coming out in terrified little gasps. I definably could feel—no, could taste his breath. It smelled strangely of mint and, under that, onions.

“You must understand,” He continued when I didn’t say anything, “Right now—us being here—is right. You don’t belong with Edward, Bella. He’s not right for you; I am. You need someone who can rain you in, help get your life started properly, not someone who’s going to fling you out to the world, wild and loose...untamed…” He was coming very close, a hand very deliberately running up my arm and pushing my shoulder into the tree—the bark dug into the skin, but I hardly even noticed.

Very quickly, panic and instinct controlling me completely, I dough my foot in between his legs; his low, bent over grunt was what I was looking for. I twisted around the tree, running back the way I had come. Again, I thought of calling for Edward, but I knew it would only harm him, so I bit down on my lip, running through the layer of leaves.

I could hear pounding feet behind me, accompanied with loud gasping and words that I had never come across before.

Something struck my ankle and I spiraled forward, the ground coming to a meet me—I had fallen over the large tree root. The trail was too long; I was lost; Edward was somewhere out in the thick woods; the sun was falling behind the horizon, limiting my light; I wasn’t going to be able to get away from Sebastian.

I twisted around on my back. Sebastian had a slow, but large, grin growing across his face; it was a grotesque and unpleasant thing to see. He towered over me, his shadow falling everywhere, it seemed.

“Isabella, I always win. There’s no point in fighting: might as well enjoy it while you can.” He shrugged.

I backed up on my elbows, crawling backwards, watching him advance with a growing horror. He—no!

Sebastian grinned, crouching down, hand reached out. Something flew out from the trees. Something big. Edward and Sebastian tumbled to the ground in a ball of flailing arms and loud curses. I jumped up immediately, getting out of the way of the vicious brawl.

“Edward! No—Sebastian, stop it! Get off him!” A small sob ripped from my throat as I heard Edward grunt in pain. “Stop it! Don’t touch him!” But they continued.

Horrified that Edward would be injured more, I looked around for something—anything!—that would assist him. I fell to the ground, hands hurriedly brushing away the layer of leaves. My fingers fumbled for a second before I found what I was looking for. I grasped the fist sized rock tightly in my hands, standing back up.

But Edward and Sebastian were so close that it was impossible to aim—I couldn’t risk hitting Edward instead of Sebastian.

“Edward, get away from him. Hurry!” I screeched, hoping, praying Edward would listen this time.

Apparently Edward got the plot because he rolled away in one swift movement, bounding to his feet in the same jerk.

I didn’t give Sebastian time to recover from the rapid departure of his opponent. I launched the stone with all the strength in me at Sebastian’s head. It hit its target with a sickening thud and his eyes rolled back into his skull a second before his body slumped down into the leaves.

Chest heaving, Edward looked at me for a second. Then, not wasting any time strode over to me and grabbed my arm. He firmly lifted me in his arms and started nearly running from the site.

I was in shock. I watched the mutilated form of Sebastian with wide, unblinking eyes. Edward silently turned my face into his chest, his hand running through my hair. I hadn’t realized I’d started sobbing until I tried to speak. It took several attempts before I got out what I wanted. “Is—is he dead?”

“No, of course not, love. Shh, everything’s fine. It’s over. Are you hurt?” His voice was burning with worry.

I shook my head that was still burrowed in his shoulder. “No. I—I’m fine. He needs help, Edward. He’s going to die. It’s my entire fault—my fault.” I hiccupped loudly before returning to my half sobs, half whimpers.

Still keeping up his quick pace, Edward sighed, kissing my hair softly. “Don’t worry about him. We’ll tell someone once we get into town. I’m just very, very glad you’re okay. I love you,”